Missing Army Veteran Found Dead From Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

WATERFORD TWP (WWJ) - Authorities say a body discovered in Waterford Township is that of a missing Army Veteran.

Police say David Folsom's body was discovered Wednesday night by two citizens in a wooded area near Cooley Lake Road and Cooley Village Lane. He appeared to have suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police. An autopsy is set for Thursday.

Folsom, a Command Sergeant Major with the Army National Guard, disappeared early in the morning of Wednesday, July 12, when he walked away from his home in the area of Elizabeth Lake and Cooley Lake roads.

The 54-year-old served in the National Guard for 20 years — with deployment to Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan — and suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, according to his family.

Folsom's wife, Belinda Mirovsky-Folsom, said he had recently been struggling. Earlier this month, he was missing for about nine hours when he became disoriented and wandered to a local park.

"In June (he started) kind of having some issues with his job and just what to do; kind of life-type decisions," she told WWJ Newsradio 950. "And we could just see that it started snowballing. He wasn't sleeping very well, he started having some panic attacks."

Police teams with K-9 units searched a large wooded area near Folsom's home several times, to no avail.

An investigation is ongoing.

Stay with WWJ Newsradio 950 and CBSDetroit.com for the latest.